The reactions were intense. Some of the participants cried, some got angry and some stood in shocked silence. The six participants were staring at themselves, digitally aged by up to 30 years. The installation project is the work of a Penn State professor, who is using technology and art to bring the young together with the old.

In Heng Xu’s career, combining science and art has brought a new way of interpreting data to life — an innovation that might help consumers understand, follow and afford tomorrow’s fashion trends. Xu, an associate professor of information sciences and technology at Penn State, is collecting and analyzing data to gain insight into the needs, motivations and behaviors of the fashion industry, retailers and consumers.

The Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research (KINBER) recently received a $150,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will help fund activities aimed at helping Pennsylvania colleges and universities use their network infrastructure to support scientific applications and research.

The Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning today (March 19) endorsed final plans and the expenditure of funds for a data center at University Park. The data center is the second of its kind, with the first being built at Penn State’s Hershey Medical Center.

For some youngsters, a toy spider is frightening. For others, it’s simply a funny-looking plaything. Why some kids squeal with delight and others with trepidation is what Koraly Perez-Edgar, a researcher in Penn State’s Department of Psychology, is hoping to tap into. Her research team is working with a German technology firm to build an eye-tracking visor that will capture eye gaze information that could lead to a better understanding of anxiety disorders in children.